Magnetic door stop

ABSTRACT

A door stop is provided with a magnetically susceptible element that may be aligned in cooperative relationship with a magnetically susceptible element of a door to provide magnetic means to secure the door in the open position. The magnetically susceptible element of the door stop may be moved, when desired, into a nonoperating position. In one optional form of this invention, provision is made for adjustably aligning the operating face of the magnetically susceptible element of the door stop to make planar contact with the door while in its open position.

United States Patent Inventor James J. Greytok 1123 Ashbridge Road,Rosemont, Pa. 19010 Appl. No. 815,412 Filed Apr. 11, 1969 Patented May11, 1971 MAGNETIC DOOR STOP 11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

U.S.C1 292/251.5, 16/86 Int. Cl ..E05c 19/16, E05d 13/00 Field of Search292/251.5, 201,144, 70, 74, (A); 16/49, 82, 86 (A); 24/201.2; 248/206(A); 335/285, 287, 288

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,604,323 10/1926 Spencer 335/2882,607,990 8/ 1952 Payamps 33/27 2,695,140 1 [/1954 Haugaard 335/285X3,100,664 8/ 1963 Duval 292/251.5

3,288,511 11/1966 Tavano 292/25 1.5

3,297,347 1 1967 Rogers 292/74 FOREIGN PATENTS 573,454 1 1 1945 GreatBritain 292/251.5

Primary Examiner-Stephen J Novosad Assistant Examiner-Edward J. McCarthyAttorney-Synnestvedt and Lechner ABSTRACT: A door stop is provided witha magnetically susceptible element that may be aligned in cooperativerela- ATENTED HAY] 1 sum 1 or 2 JI lin \Lr 41. gi m FIG. 3

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I INVENTOR u I I JAMES J. GREYTOK IHHIn... III' BY j'wmwflm/ (I20 \IZOATTORNEY MAGNETIC a sror BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Although thefollowing description uses terms that apply to v the most common typesof doors mounted on hinges that swing open, the invention is not limitedto such doors but may be used for doors mounted in other ways such asdoors that open by sliding action.

2. Description of the Prior Art A door stop commonly is useful in theinstallation of a building door hung with its hinges near the wall of aroom. The door stop, when properly mounted on the wall or on the floor,will serve to prevent damage to the wall, such as by the door knob whenthe door is opened with excessive speed or force.

Devices for holding doors open are also known and may be used, forexample, when a number of packages or boxes must be carried through byhand or by truck or when it is desired to leave the door open forventilation. Devices combining the functions of a door stop and doorholder are known, such as those in which a magnet is mounted on the doorstop and an armature is mounted on the door. When the door is swungopen, the armature contacts the magnet and the door is held open.

One disadvantage of these prior art devices is that the magnetic actionoperates to hold the door in an open position whenever the armature onthe door contacts the door stop whether or not it is desired to leavethe door open. There is no way to nullify the magnetic action of thedevice and have it operate only as a door stop.

Another disadvantage lies in the fact that magnets are usually made frombrittle metals and are subject to damage if the door is slammed too hardagainst the device.

The known devices may have insufficient holding power since provisionoften is not made for adjusting the orientation of the magnet to securea proper alignment with the armature on the door. The absence of such anadjustment will result in tine contact instead of area contact betweenthe magnet and armature, and so reducing the magnetic holding action.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a principal object of thisinvention to provide improved magnetic means for securing doors in theopen position.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus, in associationwith a door stop, that may magnetically secure a door in the openposition.

Another object of this invention is to provide a magnetic door stop thatmay be simply adjusted to either a magnetically operative or amagnetically inoperative position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a magnetic door stop thatis provided with cushioning for the magnet that will help absorb impactand reduce breakage and damage to the magnet.

Another object of this invention is to provide a magnetic door stop, theface of which may readily be aligned in parallel relationship to theplane of an open door.

Another object of this invention is to provide magnetic means inassociation with a door stop that may simply be adjusted, as by thefoot, to be either in a magnetically operative or magneticallyinoperative position.

These and other objects of this invention are accomplished by providinga door stop with a magnetically susceptible element that is adjusted toengage a magnetically susceptible element of a door when the door is inthe open position. By means which will be understood from the followingdescription of the drawings, the magnetically susceptible element of thedoor stop may readily be moved from a magnetically operative to amagetically inoperative position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a firstembodiment of the invention using a magnet supported in parallelrelationship to a stationary arm holding a bumper;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a second embodiment of the inven tion using amagnet sliding on a stationary arm holding a bumper;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a third embodiment of the invention usinga magnet sliding in a stationary hollow arm hold ing a bumper;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation, partially cut away, of a fourth embodimentshowing a magnet and bumper carried on opposite ends of a pivoted armheld in a stationary support;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment using a magnet heldin a disc of elastic material, the disc being sup ported by a stationarybracket;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. I, an armature 10 of magnetic material is shownattached by screws 12 to a door 14, assumed, for purposes ofdescription, as being a common door swinging on conventional hinges, sothat, as it opens, it moves to the right in FIG. I. In the case of steeldoors, the armature 10 may be omitted.

Positioned in the path of the door 14 is a post 16 having an integralscrew portion I8 which is screwed into the baseboard 19, thus holdingthe post 16 firmly in position. Post 16 may conveniently be circular incross section. A bumper 20, for instance, a rubber bumper, is mounted onthe end of the post 16 so as to contact the door 14 when the door isfully opened, A sleeve 21, preferably of nonmagnetic material, issupported on post 16 at a point near the post by a clip 24 having a bodyportion 24a and an upper portion 24b through which passes a bolt 26.Body portion 24a encircles the arm 16 so that when the bolt 26 istightened, theclip will firmly grip the post 16. A similar clip 28supports the end of the sleeve 21 near the baseboard I9.

Slidably mounted in sleeve 21 is a magnet 30 with an enlarged end 30atoward the door and enlarged end 3011 toward the baseboard, Thus, theclips 24 and 28 may be so located along the post 16 as to allow thesleeve 21 and magnet 30 to take the positions shown in full lines inFIG, 1. In this position the magnet 30 seizes the armature 10 so thatthe device acts as a door holder. By sliding the magnet 30 to theposition 32 shown in dashed lines, only the bumper 19 will contact thearmature 10 and the device then acts only as a door stop.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that in the device of FIG. 1, threestop or abutment elements are included, namely the armature or plate 10,the bumper 20 and the magnet 30. It will further be seen that thearrangement provides for motion of at least one of said elements in apath providing for alternative activation of one or the other of thestop elements 20 and 30. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, this isaccomplished by mounting the element 30 for motion, but it will beunderstood that a similar effect may be secured in an arrangement whereone or the other of the three abutment elements is arranged for movementto provide for alternative actuation of either the bumper or magneticholding device.

In FIG. 2, an armature 40 is mounted on a door 42 by screws 44. A post46, preferably of nonmagnetic material, is fixed in baseboard 48 byscrew 50 and carries a bumper 52. Slidably mounted on post 46 is amagnet 54 having an enlarged opening in the end near the door allowingthe magnet 54 to be adjusted to the alternate position 56 shown indashed lines. Thus, in the positionshown in full lines in FIG. 2, themagnet seizes the armature 40 so that the device acts as a door holder,and when the magnet is in the position "shown by dashed lines, thedevice acts as a door stop.

In FIG. 3, a screw 60 fixed in baseboard 62 supports a tube 6 1,preferably of nonmagnetic material, carrying an annular bumper 66 inposition to contact the armature 68 on a door 70. Slidably mountedinside tube 64 is a magnet 72 to which is attached a tab 74 passingdownwardly through a slot 76 in tube 64. By contacting the tab 74 withthe foot or hand, the magnet 72 may be shifted to the alternate position78 shown in dashed lines. Thus, in the position shown in full lines inFIG. 3, the magnet will seize the armature 68 and hold the door open.When the magnet is in position 78, only the bumper 68 contacts thearmature and the device serves only as a door stop.

FIG. 4 illustrates a device conveniently mounted on a floor 80. A screw82 supports a base 84 carrying two upwardly extending legs 86 and 88,leg 88 being broken away for clarity of illustration. Supported betweenthe upper ends of legs 86 and 88 is an arm 90 freely turning on ahorizontal shaft 92 fixed in legs 86 and 88. Fixed to the right-hand endof arm 90 is a bumper 94, and on the left-hand end is a magnet 96 oflarger diameter than the bumper 94.

At its upper end, leg 86 is formed into stop portions 98 on the left and100 on the right while leg 88 has similar stop portions (not shown). Thelegs 86 and 88 are so spaced that when arm 90 is turned in the directionof arrow 91, bumper 94 will pass between them, being of relatively smalldiameter, but the magnet 96 will not pass between them, being of largerdiameter. Thus, the stop portions 98 and 100 on leg 86 and theunnumbered stop portions on leg 88 act to stop magnet 96 in either theposition shown in full lines in FIG. 4 in which the device functions asa door holder or in the position 102 indicated in dashed lines in whichthe device functions as a door stop.

In FIG. 5, an armature 110 is attached by screws 114 to a door 112,causing the armature to swing with the door, for in stance, through anare generally indicated by dotted line A- In the general path AC, aU-shaped bracket 116, of magnetic material, is mounted on the baseboard117 in any convenient manner. In this case, screws 120 are shown passingthrough the base 116a of the bracket into the baseboard 117. Of course,if desired, the bracket 116 may be mounted on a support located in asuitable position on the floor.

Bracket 116 has a lower leg 116k and an upper leg 116a. Verticallydisposed and passing through the legs 11611 and 116s of the bracket is abolt 118 having an enlarged head, a large diameter portion 118b, a smalldiameter threaded portion 118a and a shoulder 118d. Bolt 118 passesthrough and serves as a shaft for a disc 121 which may freely turnbetween the bracket legs 11611 and 116C, the disc 121 being held awayfrom contact with the bracket legs by spacing washers 122 and 124. Disc121 has a body 121a of nonmagnetic material, preferably a yieldablesubstance such as rubber or other elastomer.

A magnet 126, shown in its preferred form as a rectangular block, isrecessed in a surface portion of the disc 121 and is bonded in place.Positioned below the lower bracket leg 116b, a metal strap 128 is heldin place by the small diameter body portion 1180 of bolt 118. Strap 128is also secured by washer 130 and nut 132 on the threaded end of 118e ofbolt 118. Strap 128 is made of magnetic material such as soft iron.Toward the baseboard 117, the strap 128 has an end 128a bearing againstthe bottom of bracket leg 116b. Toward the door the strap 128 has anupwardly offset horizontal planar portion 12% located close to andparallel to the common lower plane of disc 121 and magnet 126.

The small diameter threaded body portion 1180 of bolt 118 passes througha closely fitting hole in the bracket leg 116!) and is of such lengththat the shoulder 118d bears against strap 128. Strap 128 thus may belocked in place by tightening the nut 132, thus tightening the assemblyof bolt 118, bracket leg 116b, strap I28, and washer 130.

Assume that the device is to be installed for use with a swinging doorin the configuration shown in FIGS. and 7. The armature 110 is firstattached at a suitable location on the lower portion of the door. Thedoor is swung fully open and the point determined on the baseboard 117where the bracket 116 should be mounted in the path of the armature 110.With the device loosely assembled, the bracket is then attached tobaseboard 117 by screws 120. Next, the disc 121 is rotated so that themagnet is in full area contact with the armature when the door is fullyopen. Then the strap 128 is turned so that its offset portion l28b islocated beneath the magnet. Finally, nut 132 is tightened, locking thestrap 128 in place.

To operate the device as a door stop, a person, by a motion of his foot,may rotate the disc 121 so that the magnet 126 falls anywhere along thearc DEF in FIG. 7. In this position, the flux of the magnet 126 willpass through the bracket 116 and the resulting attraction will hold themagnet between the bracket legs 116!) and 1160, thus maintaining thenonmagnetic portion 121a of disc 121 in alignment with armature 110.

To operate the device as a door holder, a person, by a motion of hisfoot, may rotate the disc 121 so that the magnet 126 is attracted andheld near the offset portion 128!) of strap 128. Thus, the magnet willbe held in alignment in its proper position and the device will functionas a door holder as long as desired.

The form of combined door holder and door stop of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 hascertain distinctive advantages. The magnet may be cushioned in ayielding material, such as rubber, thus protecting it from breakage, andthe orientation of the magnet can easily be changed to align it with thearmature on the door in spite of different geometries imposed by thedoor with relation to the locating of the door holder duringinstallation.

In the foregoing description, the magnet has been described as beingassociated with the door stop and the armature with the door. It can beunderstood that it is well within the scope of this invention to reversethese elements by placing the magnet on the door and the armature on thedoor stop. In this variation, the armature rather than the magnet may bepositioned on the door stop and moved from an operative to aninoperative position.

lt should also be understood that the term magnetically susceptibleelement" as used herein refers to an element that either is, or may be,magnetized. Thus, it is intended that this term include both the magnetand the armature.

I claim:

1. A door stop and holding device including in combination:

a magnetically susceptible element mounted on a door;

a bracket fixedly positioned to align with the magnetically susceptibleelement when the door is in its fully opened position;

a member movably mounted on the bracket adapted to be selectively movedfrom a first to a second operating position such that when said memberis in its first operation position, a resilient surface is presented tothe magnetically susceptible element, and when said member is in itssecond operating position, a magnetic surface is presented to themagnetically susceptible element.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the member is rotatably mountedon the bracket and the resilient surface and the magnetic surface aresecured to different portions of the member so that they will bealternately presented to the magnetically susceptible element when themember is rotated.

3. A device to operate in a first mode as a door stop and in a secondmode as a door stop and door holder, comprising an armature mounted on adoor to move with the door in a predetermined path when the door isopened or closed, a support in the general path of the armature andattached to a fixed surface, an adjustable member mounted on the supportso as to present, in the first operating mode, a first portion of theadjustable member to the armature, and in the second operating mode, asecond portion of the adjustable member to the armature, and a magnetassociated with the second portion of the adjustable member so that, inthe first operating mode, the first portion of the adjustable memberacts as a bumper, and in the second operating mode, the magnet seizesthe armature and holds the door open.

4. A device according to claim 3 in combination with means for holdingthe adjustable member in the first operating mode.

5. A device according to claim 3 wherein means'for holding theadjustable member in the first operating mode comprises a first elementof magnetic material carried by the support so that when the adjustablemember is in the first operating mode, the magnet associated with theadjustable member is attrected to and held near the first element ofmagnetic material.

A device according to claim 5 in which the first element of magneticmaterial is an integral part of the support.

7. A device according to claim 3 in combination with means for holdingthe adjustable member in the second operating mode.

8. A device according to claim 7 wherein the means for holding theadjustable member in the second operating mode is a second element ofmagnetic material carried by the support so that the magnet associatedwith the adjustable member is attracted to and is held near the secondelement of magnetic material.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein the second element of magneticmaterial is shiftable on the support so that the orientation of theadjustable member may be modified to align the magnet with the armaturewhen different installation conditions impose different approach pathson the armature.

10. A device according to claim 3 wherein the first portion of theadjustable member comprises a yieldable substance.

1 l. A device according to claim 3 in combination with means for holdingthe adjustable member in the first operating mode and means for holdingthe adjustable member in the second operating mode.

1. A door stop and holding device including in combination: amagnetically susceptible element mounted on a door; a bracket fixedlypositioned to align with tHe magnetically susceptible element when thedoor is in its fully opened position; a member movably mounted on thebracket adapted to be selectively moved from a first to a secondoperating position such that when said member is in its first operationposition, a resilient surface is presented to the magneticallysusceptible element, and when said member is in its second operatingposition, a magnetic surface is presented to the magneticallysusceptible element.
 2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the memberis rotatably mounted on the bracket and the resilient surface and themagnetic surface are secured to different portions of the member so thatthey will be alternately presented to the magnetically susceptibleelement when the member is rotated.
 3. A device to operate in a firstmode as a door stop and in a second mode as a door stop and door holder,comprising an armature mounted on a door to move with the door in apredetermined path when the door is opened or closed, a support in thegeneral path of the armature and attached to a fixed surface, anadjustable member mounted on the support so as to present, in the firstoperating mode, a first portion of the adjustable member to thearmature, and in the second operating mode, a second portion of theadjustable member to the armature, and a magnet associated with thesecond portion of the adjustable member so that, in the first operatingmode, the first portion of the adjustable member acts as a bumper, andin the second operating mode, the magnet seizes the armature and holdsthe door open.
 4. A device according to claim 3 in combination withmeans for holding the adjustable member in the first operating mode. 5.A device according to claim 3 wherein means for holding the adjustablemember in the first operating mode comprises a first element of magneticmaterial carried by the support so that when the adjustable member is inthe first operating mode, the magnet associated with the adjustablemember is attracted to and held near the first element of magneticmaterial.
 6. A device according to claim 5 in which the first element ofmagnetic material is an integral part of the support.
 7. A deviceaccording to claim 3 in combination with means for holding theadjustable member in the second operating mode.
 8. A device according toclaim 7 wherein the means for holding the adjustable member in thesecond operating mode is a second element of magnetic material carriedby the support so that the magnet associated with the adjustable memberis attracted to and is held near the second element of magneticmaterial.
 9. A device according to claim 8 wherein the second element ofmagnetic material is shiftable on the support so that the orientation ofthe adjustable member may be modified to align the magnet with thearmature when different installation conditions impose differentapproach paths on the armature.
 10. A device according to claim 3wherein the first portion of the adjustable member comprises a yieldablesubstance.
 11. A device according to claim 3 in combination with meansfor holding the adjustable member in the first operating mode and meansfor holding the adjustable member in the second operating mode.